showhelp()

showhelp() takes an integer expression as its argument and displays a runtime help message, corresponding to its specified SMALLINT argument, from the current help file.

The argument of showhelp() identifies the number of a message in the current help file that was specified in the most recently executed HELP FILE clause of the OPTIONS statement.

Help Menu

showhelp() opens the Help window  and displays the first (or only) page of the help message text below a ring menu of help options.  This menu is called the Help menu.

If the help message is too long to fit on one page, the Screen option of the Help menu can display the next page of the message.  The Resume option closes the Help window and returns focus to the 4GL screen.

Help File Displayed by showhelp()

To create a help file, you must use a text editor to create an ASCII file of help messages, each identified by a message number. The message number must be a literal integer in the range from -2,147,483,647 to +2,147,483,647 and must be prefixed by a period ( . ) as the first character on the line containing the number. No sign is required, but message numbers must be unique within the file. Just as in other literal integers, no decimal points, commas, or other separators are allowed. The NEWLINE character (or a NEWLINE RETURN pair) must terminate each message number.

The help message follows the message number on the next line. It can include any printable ASCII characters, except that a line cannot begin with a period.  The text of the help message should contain information useful to the user in the context where showhelp() is called. The message is terminated by the next message number or by the end of the file.

Then you must use the qmsg utility to create a runtime version of the help file that users can view. Here is a simple example of an ASCII help file for use with showhelp():

MAIN

 

In interactive statements like CONSTRUCT, INPUT, INPUT ARRAY, PROMPT, and the COMMAND clause of a MENU statement, the effect of showhelp() resembles that of the Help key. The Help key, however, displays only the message specified in the current HELP clause. The following example uses INFIELD( ) with showhelp() to display field-dependent help messages: